The Living Will and Health Care Power of Attorney

Putting together a proper estate plan can be challenging. There are many different estate planning documents that we can use. Today we’ll look at two estate planning documents that can be part of your estate plan: the Living Will and the Medical Power of Attorney. You may have heard of these documents and are curious what their purpose is.

A living will (also known as an advanced medical directive), is where you state your intentions in regard to your medical decisions. Generally, the living will specifies your wishes when it comes to medical technology intended to prolong your life if you become terminally ill or in a permanent state of unconsciousness. State law determines the types of technology or treatment that can be legally withheld. In many cases, a person may indicate they want no extraordinary measures to be taken to prolong their life, but allow the use of prescription drugs to relieve pain or discomfort.

It’s common to designate an agent (sometimes called an attorney-in-fact) to make these kind of medical decisions when the client is unable to.

The medical power of attorney can be used along with a living will or as the sole medical document. When used alongside a living will, the medical power-of-attorney gives the agent the ability to make decisions when the living will is ignored or deemed ambiguous.

Obviously the agent should be selected carefully. Usually a husband and wife will just name each other as agents. A lot of times people are reluctant to name children as successors. This is because it can be difficult or uncomfortable to pick a child to make such emotional decisions. These kinds of decisions should be discussed with your children beforehand and involve them in the planning process. Managing your healthcare decisions is an important part of the estate planning process. If you would like more information on this or our other topics just call us at 815-455-6453. See you next time!

The content is developed from sources believed to be providing accurate information. The information in this material is not intended as tax or legal advice. It may not be used for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties. Please consult legal or tax professionals for specific information regarding your individual situation. The opinions expressed and material provided are for general information, and should not be considered a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security.

Recognized Media Resource

Educational Workshops

World Class Wealth Management

The content is developed from sources believed to be providing accurate information.
The information in this material is not intended as tax or legal advice. Please consult legal or tax professionals
for specific information regarding your individual situation. Some of this material was developed and produced by
FMG Suite to provide information on a topic that may be of interest. FMG Suite is not affiliated with the named
representative, broker - dealer, state - or SEC - registered investment advisory firm. The opinions expressed and
material provided are for general information, and should not be considered a solicitation for the purchase or
sale of any security.

Copyright 2019 FMG Suite.

Piershale Financial Group and Charles Schwab & Company, Inc. are not affiliated companies and our advisory personnel are not affiliated with Charles Schwab & Company, Inc. However, we participate in the Charles Schwab Advisor Services platform. Charles Schwab serves as the independent broker/dealer and independent qualified custodian for individual client accounts managed by Piershale Financial Group.

Piershale Financial Group uses links to other web sites for purposes such as to provide clients access to their online accounts held directly by the independent qualified custodian and to assist users in locating information on topics that might be of interest to them. We cannot attest to the accuracy of information provided by linked sites. Linking to a web site does not constitute an endorsement by Piershale Financial Group, its President Michael D Piershale or any of its employees of the sponsors of the site or the products presented on the site. Technical problems with outside links, other than a link that has been moved or changed, should be reported to the entity that maintains the site.